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Sunday, December 24, 2006

Medical Defense for People Falsely Accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Child Abuse

This blog is dedicated to the parents and caretakers who have been falsely accused of violently shaking their babies and child abuse. Thousands of people are accused of shaking babies to death every year. An estimated 1500 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) were reported in the US in the last year alone, and the number appears to be growing every year. Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Bayati is a renowned Pathologist and Toxicologist who has evaluated several cases in which parents have been accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome and other child abuse accusations. In every single case that has been evaluated by Dr. Al Bayati, his conclusions, which are based on differential diagnosis, show that a diagnosis other than Shaken Baby Syndrome was determined to be the cause of death.

Dr. Al Bayati has evaluated several cases in the US and abroad. In the side bar (on the left) are links to some of Dr. Al Bayati’s published reports and articles related to legal cases in which people have been falsely accused of SBS. If you have been accused of SBS, do not give up. Ask for a medical evaluation of the evidence in the case by experts like Dr. Al Bayati who use differential diagnosis.

I have also been falsely accused, if anyone has any information about legal theories of defense and names of qualified Pathologists, Neurologists, Biomechanical Engineers, please email me directly at pinetree110567@yahoo.com.

Albuquerque New Mexico CYFD -Me and my fiance have been falsely accused of Shaking our 2 month old and now all 4 of my kids are in foster kids this happen 11/17/2007 a week after my 2months old vaccinations he had a horrible siezure and died thank god for our nieghbor she did CPR and brought our baby boy back to this earth , we were never told anything about shaking baby by any doctor no no one would tell us anything later that evening they took our statements handcuffed us and never informed us of miranda rights as well as denied us both access to a lawyer they laughed at us we were guilty poor young spics in there eyes .... no my 6 yearold has been placed with is alleed dad a convicted violent felon , we have never abused any kids nn never will the doctors at Presbyterian hospital did not differential diagnoses and refuse to give us med records in fact they are now disappering , the police told my family the baby was dead , my son was only in the hospiatl a week he is fine now but the investigators continue to exagerate SBS saying he will suffer from developmental delays and so on i had expressed concerns about our son since birth n now the record of trauma from his birth is also missing , they doctors dont want to look for any other cause even thought it could mean life or death to our son why ???? guilty until proven innocent in a corrupt system , if anyone knows of anything more i can do please help .... email me at shaebee21@yahoo.com lets stop this legal kidnapping and violation of our rights together we can end this all !!!!!!

This letter is sent to promote awareness and to ask for assistance in the case of Paul Cotter who was accused of shaking a 23-month old toddler. On October 26, 2006 Alyssa Kay Logue was pronounced dead at Cincinnati Children‘s Hospital. Alyssa lived with her mother Christy Lowery and her two brothers Tyler and Skyler Lowery in Lebanon, Ohio. The following is information pertaining to Alyssa’s death and the innocence of the man accused of her murder. At the time of Alyssa’s death Mr. Cotter was Ms. Lowery’s live-in boyfriend. He was working at two jobs in Lebanon and Ms. Lowery was also working full-time as a pharmacist. During that time both he and Christy were responsible for her own children as well as his three children from his previous marriage.

On October 18th Nicholas Goller, long time friend and babysitter, cared for Alyssa and the sons so that Ms. Lowry and Mr. Cotter could go on a date to celebrate Ms. Lowery‘s birthday. Following Mr. Goller’s care Ms. Lowery found blisters on the bottoms of Alyssa feet. Ms. Lowery sent her son to her neighbor, Tammy Blanton, so that Ms. Blanton could come look at the blisters and offer advice. Ms. Blanton advised Ms. Lowery to take Alyssa to the emergency room. Ms. Blanton claims that Ms. Lowery refused and then revealed a contusion on Alyssa forehead. She also claims that Ms. Lowery stated that she did not want to go to the hospital for fear that they would believe the injuries were child abuse. During their conversation Mr. Cotter arrived home and held Alyssa. At that time Ms. Lowery determined it was prudent not to go to the hospital

On October 20th Alyssa was left again in the care of Nick Goller. When Alyssa woke up for the day he called Ms. Lowery at work to tell her. While on the phone he noticed that she had a blister on the crown of her head and told Ms. Lowery that it was there. She instructed him to bring Alyssa to her job at Olde Town Medicine in Middletown, Ohio. From there they took Alyssa to Dayton Children’s Medical Center. However, it is noted in the medical reports from Dayton that Alyssa first received care at Middletown Regional Hospital and was from there, transferred to Dayton.

Alyssa was examined at Dayton Children’s and it was determined that the blister on her head was similar to those on her feet found one day prior. Alyssa did not seem to be in pain from the blisters and a dermatologist was consulted, they were determined not to be burns. At that time the Child Abuse advocacy team was also called. They noted bruises on the lower extremities and one on her forehead. Ms Lowery told the medical team that the contusion on the forehead was from her son’s bunk bed ladder falling and hitting her head. The other bruises were from her “getting into everything.” Child Abuse Advocacy ruled out abuse and the hospital admitted Alyssa for observation. They gave Alyssa clindamycin, an antibiotic, through an IV and began to run tests as well as wrapping the blisters on her feet. The medical team was unable to diagnose the blisters on her feet and head so they called the blisters infectious disease. They discharged Alyssa the afternoon of October 22nd with instructions to return should Alyssa develop a fever or if the lesions worsened.

Alyssa seemed well that evening and throughout most of October 23rd . That morning, Ms Lowery left Alyssa in the care of Paul Cotter until almost 9:00 pm when she arrived home. Mr. Cotter and Ms. Lowery then washed Alyssa’s feet during which she vomited. Ms. Lowery took Alyssa’s temperature and she had a fever of 101.5 Mr. Cotter had to go to work, leaving Alyssa in care of Ms. Lowery. Later that evening Nick Goller, his sister, Jennifer Hollandsworth and her husband Justin came to the house. That night Alyssa’s fever reached 102.5 and Ms. Lowery gave Alyssa Children’s Motrin to attempt to break the fever. Alyssa was out of bed most of the night. Alyssa was not taken to the hospital as per the doctor’s instructions At some point the Hollandsworths left and Mr. Goller remained with Ms. Lowery and Alyssa. Around 5:45am on October 24th Mr. Cotter returned from work and Mr. Goller left. Ms. Lowery, Mr. Cotter and Alyssa then all got into the same bed to sleep until the alarm went off for Ms. Lowery’s sons to go to school. Mr. Goller returned at approximately 7:30am to make sure that boys got on the bus and then left after the sons boarded the bus. Ms Lowery prepared for work and left at approximately 8:35am. Shortly following Ms. Lowery’s departure Mr. Cotter gave Alyssa two juice boxes, which she then vomited. After cleaning the mess he and Alyssa took a nap in an easy chair and he awoke again at approximately 9:30am. He then put Alyssa in her crib and went back to sleep. Around 11:15am Alyssa’s grandmother, Mary Logue, came to visit Alyssa and went with Mr. Cotter to see her asleep in the crib. Mrs. Logue brushed Alyssa’s hair away from her face and Alyssa stirred in her sleep. They both exited the and Mr. Cotter and Mrs. Logue talked until Ms. Lowery returned from work at 1:15 p.m. She went to Alyssa’s room to get her out of bed and found Alyssa unresponsive so Mr. Cotter called 911 emergency. Alyssa was flown by Air-Care to Cincinnati Children‘s Hospital.

Upon arrival, she was taken in for a CT scan where a subdural hemorrhage and a right to left brain shift was found. Alyssa was taken to the OR where two blood clots were found in her brain. It was noted that there was “old blood” in her brain. She also suffered a retinal hemorrhage. Surgeons worked to save Alyssa life and she was in a coma. Based on her condition medical professionals claimed that the time the injury had have been approximately 10:30 a.m. on October 24th. On October 26, 2006 they pronounced Alyssa dead. Shriner’s Burn Institute examined the blisters on Alyssa’s feet and they noted that blisters were “ to be consistent with burns.” The autopsy report ruled Alyssa’s death as a homicide by “blunt impact to head.” This making Alyssa’s death a police matter.

Lebanon Police questioned: Ms. Lowery and Mr. Goller, Mrs. Hollandsworth and Mr. Cotter. Mr. Goller and Ms Lowery took a lie detector test and showed signs of deception. Mr. Cotter did not take a lie detector test as he was advised not to because they are inadmissible in court. He spoke with police the day Alyssa was taken to Cincinnati Children’s and two other times after that offering his full cooperation at all times.

Following Alyssa‘s death, Ms. Lowery‘s ex-husband, Tommy Lowery, came into town because his children, Tyler and Skylar were taken into foster care as there was a murder investigation. During this time there was an altercation between Paul and Mr. Lowery because Mr. Lowery felt that it was inappropriate for Mr. Cotter to call Ms. Lowery during the investigation and Ms. Lowery called the police and claimed that Mr. Cotter was

menacing them. While at Mc Donald’s in Lebanon, Mr. Cotter was arrested for a probation violation and incarcerated during the length of the entire murder investigation.

Mr. Cotter was given a court appointed attorney, Mr. Don Oda, who only met with Mr. Cotter three times and only spoke with two people for character witnesses and never contacted Mr. Cotter’s family. In fact, Mr. Oda never spoke with anyone other than myself and Ms. Blanton. He also failed to hire any medical experts to rebuttal the prosecution. In February 2007 he was indicted for murder facing 15 year to life in prison and plead not guilty. In September the state offered a plea deal for the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. The prosecution offered him a sentence of 10 years of which three years are mandatory. Mr. Oda advised Mr. Cotter to accept the deal. Mr. Cotter accepted the deal because he felt that he would not be properly represented in court by Mr. Oda, due to his lack of enthusiasm and interest in the case. Mr. Oda told Mr. Cotter, “I could win this case, I’m just not going to. I didn’t hire medical experts because I didn’t want to look desperate.” Mr. Cotter was unaware that he could request a different counselor and postpone the trial. But wanted to later file for ineffective assistance of counsel as he felt this was in violation of his 6th amendment rights.

These events leave me with unanswered questions that I feel were gaps in the case. For example, the blister on Alyssa’s head is conspicuously missing from the medical reports after Alyssa was taken to Cincinnati Children‘s hospital. The EMT noted that there was a contusion on Alyssa forehead as well as the blisters on the feet. I wonder why the blisters on the scalp weren’t noted either by the EMT or in the autopsy report. When Shrinner’s Burn Institute looked at blisters on feet they said they were consistent to be with burns, yet they never mentioned the blister on head. I am left wondering why Dayton felt these were infectious and Shriner’s felt they were burns. I wonder if Cincinnati consulted Dayton about the blisters. With that lack of communication between the doctor’s who treated Alyssa within days of one another it leaves room for key information to be missing from Cincinnati.

It is also interesting to note that when Alyssa was at Dayton Children’s and the child abuse team was called, by law they should have done a CT scan for the contusion on her forehead, this however, was never done. A CT scan could have revealed defects or injury in the brain that may have killed Alyssa. Dayton also began treating Alyssa with antibiotics before they began testing which can alter results. Dayton didn’t perform a spinal tap which could have revealed spinal meningitis. After her discharge approximately 24 hours later Alyssa was running a fever, acting lethargic and vomiting. Ms. Lowery was advised that should those symptoms persist she was to return Alyssa to the hospital immediately, which Ms. Lowery failed to do.

Even more interesting is that Alyssa, other than the condition of her brain, showed no tell-tale signs of abuse such as bruising around the rib cage, which is indicative of Shaken Baby Syndrome. While at Cincinnati she was given CT scan in which doctors found a subdural hemorrhage on the right side of the brain. There was a right to left brain shift with no skull fractures. They also found old blood in the brain, being that Alyssa was hospitalized just days ago and not administered a CT scan then, it is possible that this blood on the brain was missed and was causing pressure. While the doctors diagnosed Alyssa’s brain damage as acute, this leaves no explanation for the old blood in her brain.

The story about the contusion on Alyssa’s forehead has changed over time. In a email Ms. Lowery told me that medical professionals lied that she never told them about any ladder. Mr. Cotter stated that she was running from their puppy and tripped and fell, hitting her head on the computer desk chair. We have in essence, three stories about Alyssa’s head injury. It could have been the desk chair which Mr. Cotter says Alyssa ran into. We have a ladder that fell on the child based on one telling by Ms. Lowery and we have no ladder, just a mysterious bruise based on another story told by Ms. Lowery. No matter which way the story is told the child had a contusion on her head which could have been accountable or contributing to the brain bleeding.

I, like many, have also been accused of SBS. My problems began last Febuary on a Sunday. I was involved with a girl I had known previously over the past six years. Her, which we will call the ex and her daughter, which we will call baby G, just for the sake of the case, and I had only been living together for a little over a month. We were in a one bedroom apt with a study. My father and sisters were also staying with us at the time. So yes my house was very crowded. Baby G had been running a fever of about 102.00 for about three days.

I worked 12 hour shifts and was frequently contacted by the ex for advice on what to do. She was given alternate doses of Childrens Motrin and Tylenol. I told the ex that if the temp did not drop or continued into the next day to take her to the doctor. The Saturday before the incident the ex and her mother went out to job hunt. Why on a Saturday I do not know. They returned later that evening and I was told baby G was fussy all day but her temp was better. On Sunday we awoke as usual. Baby G seemed happy and her and I played a little game of peek-a-boo. She was all smiles

After about an hour in bed and a call to my ex wife who notified me our daughter was sick, we went into the living room. After a few hours of game playing and conversation, Baby G began to get fussy. The ex wanted to take a bath so I told her I would put the baby down while she bathed. She wanted to take her into the bathroom and I told her that was not necessary, she did not feel well and just needed rest. The ex needed some time to herself as well which I also suggested. I laid Baby G on the bed and tried to soothe her to sleep. She was still fussy so I picked her up and began rocking her. She fell asleep shortly after that and I put her on the other side of the bed as to not wake her when I got up. When I laid her down she woke up rolled over on her stomach and began to fuss.

I reached over the opposite side of the bed to grab her pacifier and then heard a thud like something hit the bed post. I rushed up and over to find Baby G lying on her side on the floor. When I picked her up she was beet red like she wanted to let out a wail but couldnt and then she went limp. I laid her on the bed, bent over to listen to her breathing and gave her two breaths because her breathing was shallow. I brought my Dad into the room, told him what happened and he picked baby G up. She moved a little and he thought she was in a deep sleep. I went to the bathroom to get the ex and told her what happened. She told me to call 911. I remained with Baby G and followed the dispatchers instructions. 5 min later the EMTs arrived. I followed the ambulance to the hospital where Baby G was having seizures to the point she had to be sedated. The Drs. told the ex and I they would do a CT to find out what was going on. They found subdural hemorrhaging as well as a skull fracture. After the blood was drained off Baby Gs brain she was stabilized in ICU.

We were told the next day by the Dr. that there was old bleeding as well as new bleeding and an old skull fracture. Not until later that night when I was questioned by CPS was I told the fracture was not old it was new. I was charged with injury to a child and told not to have contact with the injured parties.I spent a week in jail and await trial in 3 months. CPS never questioned my ex wife or looked at my child and my exs other daughter. Not until a year

later when my second daughter was born, did CPS get involved in my family. I was told I could not be around my children and was told I had to leave our home. My ex wife and I had reconciled our problems and she knew all about this case prior. The judge finally allowed me to come back home after classes were taken. I dont understand our justice system. Why Im on the chopping block when there are obvious prior injuries. Through information we retained the DA is trying to say I caused those injuries as well. A month these two lived in my house and Im all of the sudden a monster. My children were checked out and there was nothing wrong with them. I was alone with this baby for 5 to 10 min yet somehow I got so angry as they say that I shook her. I have never had a history of violence or anger. Im the most patient person around. I love children and have the softest heart for them. Why do investigators fail to do their jobs? Why do Drs. fail to rule out other causes or investigate further? My family still remains strong and thankfully Baby G has recovered well and continues to do well. Its just a shame that our justice system is so quick to point the finger. Ill take any support I can get right now as this is a tough battle. I have a lot of money left to pay my attorney and if I cant come up with it I lose her. She feels we have a fighting chance. WE also need a great medical expert. So anything anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for creating and posting this! It is so important to help others find the help they need. My husband was accused and I didn't know anything about this at the time. I have a lot of information at www.theamandatruthproject.com Please let me know if there's anything I can post there (crediting this site, of course)!

my niece and her husband has been accused of sbs and no one will take there case....the baby was 3 months premature and spent 3 months in the hospital...he was home 10 days and wouldn't eat and spit up what he did eat....he stopped breathing and turned blue...we got him breathing and took him to er....they said it was apneia stayed in hospital 5 days on apneia monitor..then tried sending the baby home without the monitor...mom and dad threw a fit and would not leave without one...they got it and put the baby on caffeine drops..he was doing great except for not having good bowl movement...and having and extended tummy.

one night dad had the babies which were exactly 1 yr apart (for real!) were home alone. dad had to go to the rest room and put the 4month old on the queen size bed with pillows all around him and went to rest room in the same room and the big brother 16 months pulled the pillow with the baby on it and pulled him on to the side table causing a bruise on the babies for head...he took him to hometown hospital they gave him a bill of health...but the baby was becoming unresponsive so they took him to st johns hospital and they kept him for 3 days and determined sbs..and accused the parents and took both babies from them....i the aunt got kinship of the boys and had them 6 days. after passing and buying everything dhs asked me to do the determined the boys would be safer with a foster parent threw dhs because any of us that ever had contact with the babies could have hurt him...my girls and i had only spent maybe 2hrs alone with the babies and saying he had old and new blood spots n his head and can not determine when it happened...now i am fighting for custody of the boys...

i have done research and found that when they took the baby to the hospital after he stopped breathing and they gave him caffeine drops and said it was apnea that he had 8 out of 10 symptoms of sbs but they didnt catch it...it was something else...but when they took him in and checked for head trauma it automatically became sbs....we need help anyone to take this case...they are trying to pin it on my niece and i know she didnt do it...she loves babies...they stayed by his side for 3 months fighting to keep him alive....

My son is being accused of SBS here in Phoenix this week. The baby is 3 mos old, had a subdural hematoma last thurs and now is doing well. MD says that he will have 'no long term effects'. Baby was born a 'facial presentation' 3 mos. ago. One month ago he was ill but rec'd his vaccinations anyway, and last week had flu like s/s w/ projectile vomiting, but no high fever. This was after his mom had a huge swollen lip from a canker sore indicative of the Coxackie virus that has been going aroung the community here. He definately was exposed to it and probably had it. All 3 of these things can cause a weakening of the cranial blood vessels and a subdural hematoma can result afterwards if he cries too hard, is bounced, or vomits too hard...all of which happened. Can anyone tell me how to find legal rep for him? will anyone take the case here in Phoenix? Worried Grandma

Larry Atwell is my Uncle. I'm trying to raise money to help him. He is a deacon in his church, he is a manager of Holly Lake Condo Association in New Jersey, and would do anything for anyone. He is more than just my Uncle, he is my friend. He was accused of murdering a one year old baby. He was babysitting the child when it collapsed in seizures. He called for the medics. When they arrived, he was performing CPR. He sat in the hospital for 13 hours with the baby. The child unfortunately died 3 days later. My Uncle is now in jail, awaiting his trial. There is suffiecient evidence to prove he is innocent. I am trying to raise money for his bail and also for his court and attorney fees. It's hard to raise money without help. My family and many others support him. Please help me help my Uncle. The media has twisted this story for sick entertainment. They've made him out to be a monster when in reality, he wouldn't harm anyone. I love him very much. He deserves much more than he is being given. Every dollar counts and helps. Thank You.

I hate typing my story cause it having.to relive it. I lost all my boys in Feb. Of 2005 because our last baby had gotten sick one night and.was having problems breathing. I was at work and had gotten a call from my step mother. My babies dad was watching him at the.time and.he didn't know how serious it was so he just called my stepmom and dad.. They rushed over and that is when she called me. My father and.i drove josh to hospital and he was gasping all way so i was trying to help him breath. But who's to say that i wasn't making it worse now that i sit and think about everything. All i know is that he was gasping and straightening his body...it was.scary..We get there and after a couple hours cops show up at hospital. Josh dad was also there now with me..they took us to question us and i knew it wasn't good..thy accused us of beating his head off something because he supposedly had cracked skull. So they life line him to better hospital and thy dint arrest us. So we drove to hospital where they took him..we spent days in icu with him. Until dcfs showed up and told us that there isn't cracked skull but the thought.he was shook. They made us leave. My life was turned upside down. They took all our children. Accused dad of sbs . We fought for many years and had to deal with alt of bs. To end in dad being charged for child endangerment because he left josh unattended for five minutes to use neighbors phone to call for help. Not sbs. They couldnt prove sbs.But we still don't ha our kids and its 2012..We see them thank gosh but it tears me up when we leave from visit and.they cry they don't want us to leave and they wanna come.home...sick of living they way i do..i seriously need help getting my boys back.. Im desperate.... I love my kids with all my heart and i need them.to be with us.

If anyone has any info to help please lmk. Splitt62000@yahoo.com

They say god does things for a reason. Well id like to know the reason. Its been 7 years now..I need my miracle

I see your uncle admitted he was at fault, and he initially told first responders the baby fell from a tall slide. It's funny how family members fail to ever think someone they know is capable of such things before advocating for these monsters.